012 [action/written]

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[It's fairly early in the morning when Sigmund comes stumbling into town. To say he's in bad shape would be a severe understatement. He's got several nasty gashes, some thankfully starting to scab over, some not, most of them bandaged with what he could rip off his undershirt without getting his armor off. The side of his cuirass is dented in a way

Comments

[Action]

[markofthewise]

[Having spent the entirety of yesterday with Suki, Sokka hadn't realized what had gone down yesterday. He also arrived late at the smithy, only moments before Sigmund comes dragging himself in. But right now he's more preoccupied by something else.]

Winry? You here?

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[If Sigmund had a clue what happened to Winry, he'd tell Sokka about it. He's vaguely aware of the fact that he should tell him what happened to Ed. His armor is urgent, though. He'll just...

Loudly knock things over first. Sorry Sokka.]

[Action]

[markofthewise]

[That immediately catches Sokka's attention. His eyes widen when he sees who it is and he rushes over to help stabilize him.]

Sigmund! What happened? [He's going to try to maneuver Sigmund in the direction of the couch if the knight lets him.]

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[Sigmund's first instinct is to punch him in the face and run, but the more conscious part of his mind reminds him that this is someone he needs to talk to. He lets himself be led in the direction of the couch.]

Edward is- [Please hold while he coughs up a little blood, and seems completely unalarmed by it.]

[Action]

[markofthewise]

[Oh man, oh man. This is not good.]

Don't talk, just yet. We need to get this armor off you. [Which is exactly what he'll try to do. Edward can wait until Sigmund isn't in the smithy dying.]

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[As long as he doesn't try to take it out of Sigmund's sight, it'll be okay. He has other ideas about the conversation, though.]

Gone. Edward is gone.

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[Sokka stops and looks at Sigmund. Wait, maybe Sigmund didn't know?]

You mean gone like... kidnapped gone? [Because he knew about that.]

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[Sigmund stares at Sokka for a while, waiting for him to realize that if even half the dried blood on him was his, he'd be very, very dead. Then he blinks and turns his head away.]

He's dead.

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[markofthewise]

[The bit of armor Sokka had pulled off ends up crashing to the ground with that revelation. Guessing or not, Sokka had refused to come to that conclusion.]

... dead...? But... [He was kidnapped. He was supposed to come back... maybe a little weird, but fine. He wasn't supposed to die.]

[Action]

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[Sigmund flinches at that, which makes him wince and have another bout of coughing.]

Something happened to him. He was... not in his right mind.

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[markofthewise]

[The coughing snaps Sokka back to current matters. He goes back to removing the rest, though much more distracted. Could he have stopped this? He had been so busy being distracted by Suki, he didn't even know anything had happened...]

Something the Malnosso did to him...?

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Likely. [But he sounds so unsure. He reaches for one of the pieces of armor Sokka's taken off, and wobbles unsteadily.]

Need to clean this...

[Action]

[markofthewise]

[Sokka eases Sigmund back before the guy falls over.]

I'll clean it, don't worry. But later. Just wait there... we have some first aid stuff in back. [He stands up and goes to fetch it.]

[Action]

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[Someone poking around his wounds is about the last thing Sigmund wants at the moment. Sokka will come back to find him trying to gather up his armor so he can carry it back to the house. Also bleeding on the floor a little. He's a stubborn, stubborn man.]

[Action]

[markofthewise]

[Sokka comes back and is, well, just a little shocked. And annoyed.]

What are you crazy!? Sit down! [He almost sounds like his sister now.]

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[The answer to that question is probably yes. But Sigmund does-... well he doesn't sit down so much as get unbalanced in his crouch and fall to the side on one leg. He doesn't stop trying to collect his armor, though.]

No time for this.